[kictanet] Day 1 of 10 -What is the Role of the Converged (Info&Communications) Regulators.

Tue Oct 9 09:55:17 EAT 2007

Dear Walu,

This is an important conversation you are getting underway and i  
would like to robe in two fundamentals that are essential for the  
emerging regulatory regime;

1. Regulation is facilitation and must benefit local industry - It is  
important for our regulators to see themseles as facilitors of the  
industry in the interest of the consumer (even in the presence of a  
consumer parliament...:-) and work towards helping the local industry  
to grow and innovate. The cash cow for the local operators in  
"license" or landing right etc. Recently i was talking to a  
substantive regulator and he told me the most shocking thing, he said  
he is going to give all the licenses to indigenous local operates so  
they use it as cash cow to trade with those carrying FDIs. Now thats  
a strategic mindframe that gives weight to the local folks and i was  
excited this is coming from a regulator....

2. Industrial oversight for Regulators - Because of the growing  
mindset and rapid adaptation of technology, the regualtory system  
worldwide is changing and it is becoming clear that effective and  
efficient regualtors actually have oversight from industry. In order  
words they must subject their decision and enagements to major  
industry input so that it is consistent with technological evolution  
which makes them facilitators of growth and economic development, not  
the opposite. So am advocating more for "self regulation" and less  
inteference in business process and innovation. Please note that self  
regulation does not mean "no regulation"......

Eric here

On 9 Oct 2007, at 08:47, John Walubengo wrote:

> In think we can kick off the discussion by first reviewing
> the roles of three selected Info & Communications
> Regulators(Kenya, Tanzania & Malaysia).
>
> The idea is to gain an understanding of the role of the
> Converged Regulator and then extend that into tomorrow’s
> Question :- How can the Internet assist Regulators in
> executing these roles or achieving their objectives?
>
> Probably at the end of this task, we should highlight five
> key functions or roles the Converged Regulators should be
> playing and then use them as the reference points for
> building appropriate and corresponding eCommunication
> strategies.
>
> Feel free to point out any role that may not have been
> covered in the three examples.
>
> walu.
> ~~~~~samples roles below~~~~~
> 1. From Kenya
> The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) was
> established in February 1999 by the Kenya Communications
> Act, 1998, to license and regulate telecommunications,
> radio communication and postal services in Kenya.
>
> The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) plays a
> critical role in the liberalization of Kenya's postal and
> telecommunication sectors. CCK is the Gateway that
> encourages private investment in the sector and provides
> for the rights and obligations of both operators and
> consumers. The licensing of new players has given the
> consumer greater choice.
>
> As the Link, CCK liaises with consumers, operators and
> service providers to ensure a level playing field in the
> sector. CCK also assigns frequencies to all licensed
> telecommunications operators as well as broadcasters
> utilizing wireless technologies in the provision of their
> services.
>
> CCK is the Watchdog of the consumer; making sure that
> standards of quality are maintained in both service and
> equipment provided. It ensures public service obligations
> are carried out while, at the same time, guaranteeing the
> protection of both consumer and investor interest.
>
> CCK is guided by policy goal to ensure that by 2015,
> telephone services are provided nationally under a
> Universal Service Obligation scheme. This will result in
> service penetration improving from the present 0.16 lines
> to 1 line per 100 people in the rural areas, and from 4
> lines to 20 lines per 100 people in the urban areas.
>
> In the area of postal services, CCK provides the
> competitive spur to realign prices, improve service
> quality, and enable the postal operators to compete in an
> increasingly global market and against new electronic
> technologies.
>
> CCK is committed to ensuring there is quality choice in the
> info-communications through effective licensing and
> regulation.
> This responsibility translates to the following functions:
> •	Licensing (telecoms and postal/courier) operators
> •	Regulating tariffs for monopoly areas
> •	Establishing interconnection principles
> •	Type-approving communications equipment
> •	Managing the radio frequency spectrum
> •	Formulating telecommunication numbering schemes and
> assigning them to network operators; and
> •	Implementing Universal Service Obligation for both postal
> and telecommunication services.
> <<http://www.cck.go.ke/role_of_cck/>>
> ~~~~~~~~
> 2. From the Tanzanian Regulatory Authority
> About TCRA
> The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA),
> established by the TCRA Act no. 12 of 2003 is an
> independent Authority for the Postal, Broadcasting and
> Electronic communications industries in the United Republic
> of Tanzania. It merged the former Tanzania Communications
> Commission and the Tanzania Broadcasting Commission. Its
> role include licensing and regulating the Postal services,
> Broadcasting services and Electronic Communications sectors
> in the United Republic of Tanzania.
>
> TCRA became operational on 1 st November, 2003 and has
> effectively taken over the functions of the two defunct
> commissions.  Specifically the Authority is responsible for
> enhancing the welfare of Tanzanians through:
> •	Promotion of effective competition and economic
> efficiency;
> •	Protecting the interests of consumers;
> •	Promoting the availability of regulated services;
> •	Licensing and enforcing licence conditions of
> broadcasting, postal and Telecommunications operators
> •	Establishing standards for regulated goods and services
> •	Regulating rates and charges (tariffs);
> •	Managing the radio frequency spectrum;
> •	Monitoring the performance of the regulated sectors.
> <http://www.tcra.go.tz/about/profile.php>
>
> 3. From Malaysia.
>
> ….the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission is
> to implement and promote the Government's national policy
> objectives for the communications and multimedia sector.
> The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission is
> also charged with overseeing the new regulatory framework
> for the converging industries of telecommunications,
> broadcasting and on-line activities.
>
> Economic regulation, which includes the promotion of
> competition and prohibition of anti-competitive conduct, as
> well as the development and enforcement of access codes and
> standards. It also includes licensing, enforcement of
> license conditions for network and application providers
> and ensuring compliance to rules and performance/service
> quality.
>
> Technical regulation, includes efficient frequency spectrum
> assignment, the development and enforcement of technical
> codes and standards, and the administration of numbering
> and electronic addressing.
>
> Consumer protection, which emphasises the empowerment of
> consumers while at the same time ensures adequate
> protection measures in areas such as dispute resolution,
> affordability of services and service availability.
>
> Social regulation which includes the twin areas of content
> development as well as content regulation; the latter
> includes the prohibition of offensive content as well as
> public education on content-related issues.
>
>> From <http://www.mcmc.gov.my/mcmc/about_us/roles.asp>
>
> Ends.
>
>
>
>
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Eric M.K Osiakwan
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